“And when she travels, she drives two cats and sits in a chariot.” (Faulkes: 24)

Norse mythology is full of beautiful stories and songs that still inspire us to create new jewellery. We are very proud to present our new collection – Lynx of Freya.

The Goddess Freya is known for fertility, love, and freedom, and is related to domesticity, womanhood, and female sexuality. She was moreover related to divination and enchantment, as well as war. Freya might too have been the Goddess on hand to welcome ladies after passing. Her symbolic creature was the Cat. This is since Freya’s chariot was pulled not by horses but by two male cats. Both cats had been a gift from Thor – the God of Thunder.

While there isn’t an exact depiction of them, we can draw from evidence that her cats were much bigger than domestic animals, ‘Felis domesticus’. There is a suspicion they might be ancestors of the Norwegian Forest cat, mixed with longhair cats given by British Vikings to the Norwegians. This mix, in Sweden, is called the ‘skogskatt’. They are powerfully built, and therefore, could be trained to pull a chariot. In Denmark, the cats are called ‘huldrekat’, which means ‘the hidden folk’. These cats were stealthy and hid in the forests of medieval Scandinavia.

In Norse mythology, Freya’s cats are fantastic creatures that are a mixture of panthers, cats and lynxes. For the name of our collection, we have chosen “Lynx” to unite all mythical felines in one, and also because it is this species that lives in the expanses of Sweden. Not only is the Lynx a powerful and beautiful creature, but its symbolism is perfect for our brand. As such, we felt it was important to include the Cats in our Freya collection.

https://thorofsweden.com/lynx-of-freya/